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What I thought was interesting here is the colors of the soils on the hillside as it moves to the hoodoos with the colors blending as one unit. And then the wll white hoodoos in center.
ROCK TYPE
Limestone, siltstone, dolomite and mudstone make up the four different rock types that form the Claron Formation. Each rock type erodes at different rates which is what causes the undulating shapes of the hoodoos.
Limestone, siltstone and dolomite are very hard and form the protective caprock on most of the spires. These harder rocks are eroded predominantly by frost.
Mudstone is the softest rock in a hoodoo and is easily identified by the way it forms the narrowest portion of the pinnacles. As mudstone moistens it erodes easily and runs down the sides of the rock forming mud stucco as a protective coating. Every time it rains the layer of mud stucco is renewed. If wind does not erode the stucco layer fast enough it will renew before wind erosion affects the rock. For this reason, wind has little to no effect on hoodoo formation or destruction.
ANCIENT SEDIMENTATION
The Cretaceous Period began some 144 million years ago and lasted until about 63 million years ago. The rock formations you see exposed at Bryce Canyon began to develop during this time. For 60 million years a great seaway extended northwestward into this area, depositing sediments of varying thickness and composition as it repeatedly invaded, retreated, and then re-invaded the region. Retreating to the southeast, it left sediments thousands of feet thick. Their remnants form the oldest, lowest, gray-brown rocks at Bryce Canyon.
In the Tertiary Period, between 66 and 40 million years ago, highlands to the west eroded into shallow, broad basins. Iron-rich, limy sediments were deposited in the beds of a series of lakes and streams. These became the red rocks of the Claron Formation from which the hoodoos are carved and for which the Pink Cliffs are named.
ROCK TYPE
Limestone, siltstone, dolomite and mudstone make up the four different rock types that form the Claron Formation. Each rock type erodes at different rates which is what causes the undulating shapes of the hoodoos.
Limestone, siltstone and dolomite are very hard and form the protective caprock on most of the spires. These harder rocks are eroded predominantly by frost.
Mudstone is the softest rock in a hoodoo and is easily identified by the way it forms the narrowest portion of the pinnacles. As mudstone moistens it erodes easily and runs down the sides of the rock forming mud stucco as a protective coating. Every time it rains the layer of mud stucco is renewed. If wind does not erode the stucco layer fast enough it will renew before wind erosion affects the rock. For this reason, wind has little to no effect on hoodoo formation or destruction.
ANCIENT SEDIMENTATION
The Cretaceous Period began some 144 million years ago and lasted until about 63 million years ago. The rock formations you see exposed at Bryce Canyon began to develop during this time. For 60 million years a great seaway extended northwestward into this area, depositing sediments of varying thickness and composition as it repeatedly invaded, retreated, and then re-invaded the region. Retreating to the southeast, it left sediments thousands of feet thick. Their remnants form the oldest, lowest, gray-brown rocks at Bryce Canyon.
In the Tertiary Period, between 66 and 40 million years ago, highlands to the west eroded into shallow, broad basins. Iron-rich, limy sediments were deposited in the beds of a series of lakes and streams. These became the red rocks of the Claron Formation from which the hoodoos are carved and for which the Pink Cliffs are named.